National Convention on People's Right to Information starts at Hyderabad

IMPHAL, February 17: The 4th National Convention of the National Campaign for the People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) was inaugurated today at the AMR-APARD, Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad, Andra Pradesh.

According to a press release of the United Forum for RTI Campaign, more than 300 activists from 19 different states participated in the convention. Many government officials also participated in the convention.
Speakers at the plenary included Aruna Roy, J M Lyngdoh, Jannat Hussain, Reddy Subramaniam among others, it said. B Ramakrishnam Raju, co-convenor of NCPRI and convenor of UFRTI spoke about the positive developments on the RTI front in Andhra Pradesh like inclusion of civil society members in the High Level committee etc the release said.

He also criticized the process of appointment of Information Commissioners which has become a way of political rehabilitation.

Aruna Roy, NCPRI and member of National Advisory Council spoke about the changes RTI has made to the lives of many poor people, it continued.

“She spoke of the positive changes it has made and the sense of empowerment it has given to people on the margins and in conflict areas. She said that it is a time to celebrate this success and recounted how NCPRI played a crucial role in getting this act passed. Aruna Roy also appreciated the culture of civil services in AP which increasingly believing in proactive disclosures and people’s right to know”, the statement said.

“Lyngdoh (former Chief Election Commissioner) in his address said, ‘The constitution says all power derives from the people, yet the RTI act represents the climax of public frustration with people unfriendly governance. This is because the real power as distinguished from notional power has never been with the people”, said the release.

“Reddy Subramaniam, Prl Secy of Rural Development department said his department is glad to host this convention and hoped that the recommendations from the convention would be provided to them so that they could improve on their work”, it said.

“Jannat Hussain, Chief Information Commissioner of AP spoke about how his commission is taking steps to decrease the pendency of appeals. He also spoke about how some commissioners are now undertaking district visits to hear appeals. The AP Information Commission was also holding a monthly meeting with the activists to take their views into account”.

“Basheer Ahmed, an activist from Jammu & Kashmir made an enthusiastic presentation on the ‘misuse’ of the helicopter by the former CM of Jammu & Kashmir. That even in a conflict ridden state like Kashmir, the RTI remains the only tool that people can resort to”, he said.